COMPARISON BETWEEN MAINTENANCE FREE LEAD ACID BATTERIES

OF AGM AND GEL DESIGN

COMPARISON : GEL - AGM

AGM BATTERIES (Liquid electrolyte contained by Glass Mat separators)

GEL BATTERIES (Gelled electrolyte with micro porous separators)

Lifetime
Low costs

S table capacity

H igh power density

Thermal run-away

AGM
GEL

Low resistance

Endurance of cycles

Deep discharges possible

Tubular plates possible

CHARACTERISTIC

AGM BATTERY

GEL BATTERY

Cycle Life

Low because of acid stratification, lack of contact between

separator and plate, thinner
plate, dendrites

Better. No acid stratification,

smaller pores = no dendrites,
thicker and tubular plates possible

Tolerance towards deep

discharges

Low. Large pores allow growth Better. Microporous separator

of dendrites through AGM
and gelled electrolyte prevent
separator
dendrite growth

Thermal runaway

Possible because of high inter- Less possible due to hindered

nal recombination and low dif- diffusion by gel and microporfusion resistance
ous separator

Stability of capacity over life Low. Increasing dry-out during

life increases internal resistance and contracts the AGM
separator reducing contact with
plates

Good. Gel remains wet. Internal resistance remains relatively constant. Gel creeps to
maintain contact with plates

Very low. Ideal for UPS

application

Higher because of the Gel and

separators

High. Low electrical losses

and low space requirement

Not as high. Average electrical

losses. Similar space requirement to AGM.

cost

Low. AGM glass mat separators cheaper than microporous

separators

Higher. Apart from the

separators Gelled electrolyte
batteries cost slightly more to
manufacture.

Design constraints

Grid plate only. Low tolerance

on plate thickness; cell hight
limited to around 350mm

Grid or tubular plate. No cell

height restriction.

Internal resistance
Power density

ACID STRATIFICATION IN CELLS

1,32
1,3

ACID DENSITY

1,28
flooded,bottom
1,26

AGM, bottom
GEL, bottom

1,24

GEL, top

1,22

AGM, top
1,2

flooded, top

1,18
1,16
0

10

CYCLES

Change of the acid density: complete discharges, without gassing chargings

Based on complete discharge cycles with no gassing charge

ACID DISTRIBUTION IN THE CELL AFTER 10% WATER LOSS

0%
10%

+
pore size

0,1

AGM
5

0,3

+
0,1

GEL
0,5

0,3